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  • Windows 7 Tips

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    List of Anti-Virus Software Compatible with Windows 7
    Our Recommendation
    If you want something that’s going to work really well, and is totally free, you should check out the free Microsoft Security Essentials anti-virus solution, which isn’t going to slow down your PC.

    Windows AntiVirus Detection
    When you first install Windows 7, you’ll get a popup balloon message telling you that you need to find an antivirus program online… notice the wrench on the balloons that will let you turn them off easily.
    Once you’ve installed a compatible package, the message will go away and you’ll see a message in the Action Center telling you that “Virus protection” is On:
    The packages should also hook into the Windows 7 update mechanism and let you know when your virus definitions are out of date.
    AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
    AVG Free is the most popular anti-virus software out there, and not only does it work just perfectly under Windows 7, but it’s on the list of a small number of software packages that are officially compatible per Microsoft.
    You’ll notice that it also offers Anti-Spyware protection, and Windows recommends that you only run a single Anti-Spyware application:
    Avira AntiVirus Personal Edition
    Avira is a popular freeware antivirus solution that seems to be a hit on our forum, with a number of the regulars in favor of it. This software works without any issues.
    Norton AntiVirus
    Hardly needing an introduction, Norton AntiVirus works just fine. They are also on Microsoft’s list of compatible software for Windows 7.
    You’ll notice that this provides anti-spyware protection, so you’d likely want to disable Windows Defender for performance reasons.
    Kapersky Anti-Virus
    This antivirus software package is also on the Microsoft official list of Windows 7 compatible software.

  • Windows 7 Tips

    Make Now Playing Mode in Windows Media Player Display on Top
    If you like to view album art and the visualizations in Windows Media Player in Now Playing mode, you might want to set it to always display on top of other windows. Here we take a look at how to set it up on WMP 12 in Windows 7.

    Open Windows Media Player to Library view and go to Organize \ Options.
    Now in the Options window click on the Player tab and under Player settings check the box next to Keep Now Playing on top of other windows then click OK.
    Now WMP will always stay on top of all the other application windows you have open.
    If you only want it always on top during some computing sessions, and easier method is to right-click in the Now Playing window, then check or uncheck Always show Now Playing on top from the context menu.
    Using the Right-click method is probably the easiest way to quickly enable or disable the setting. If you want to make sure WMP stays on top of other windows while your working, this will do the trick.

  • Windows 7 Tips

    Make Sure Microsoft Security Essentials Has Updated Definition Files

    If you’re a new user of Microsoft Security Essentials, you might be unclear on how to update definition files manually or automatically. Here we’ll show you a few methods you can use to make sure MSE is always up to date.

    If MSE needs to be updated it will show in the Taskbar as an orange exclamation point icon letting you know it needs attention.
    Update MSE 1.0 and 2.0 Beta Definitions Manually
    There are a couple of ways you can update MSE 1.0 and the 2.0 beta manually. First you can open it up and go to the Update tab and click the Update button.

    Another method is to use Windows Updates. Open Windows Update from the Start Menu or from the Taskbar if you’ve pinned it there.
    If you manually check Windows Updates everyday, more than likely there will always be a new definitions update.
    You can also head over to The Microsoft Malware Protection Center and download the latest definition files and install manually.
    Then run mpam-fe.exe as administrator and you’ll be updated.
    Automatic Updates for MSE 1.0 and 2.0 Beta
    To make sure you get the latest malware definition file before a scan, go to the Settings tab, then Scheduled Scan. Make sure Check for the latest virus and spyware definitions before running a scheduled scan is selected.

    This will ensure MSE downloads the latest definitions before a scan.

    If you have Windows Update set to download and install updates automatically daily, make sure and check Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates. This way you’ll be sure to get the latest definition files everyday.

  • Windows 7 Tips

    Make the Windows 7 Taskbar Work More Like Windows XP or Vista

    Changing the Windows 7 Taskbar to XP/Vista Style
    To revert back to the older style, the first thing you’ll need to do is right-click on any open area of the taskbar and choose Properties from the menu.

    From the Taskbar buttons drop-down menu, you’ll want to choose “Never combine”, which will make every window show up as a separate button on the taskbar, or you could choose “Combine when taskbar is full”, which does just like it says.

    Now you should see the buttons show up with text labels like you are probably used to… but in the Windows 7 style.

    If you chose the “Use small icons” checkbox in the properties screen, the taskbar will actually shrink down to look very similar to Vista.

    The only problem is that the “pinned” icons are still sitting on the taskbar, which isn’t the same as Vista or XP, but you can easily remove all of them by right-clicking and choosing “Unpin this program from taskbar”.

    And now the taskbar looks and works very similarly to Windows Vista:

    If you wanted to be really silly, you can choose the “Windows Classic” theme under the Desktop \ Personalize section… but that would be taking it a little too far.

  • Windows 7 Tips

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    Make Windows 7 or Vista Log On Automatically
    If you are just running a home computer for gaming or something unimportant, you might not want to have to log in every single time you reboot your computer. There’s an easy tweak that will let you autologin.

    First, we’ll need to get to the Advanced User Accounts Control Panel to get to this setting. I think there’s a registry tweak as well, but that seems like too much work.
    Type in netplwiz into the start menu search box, hit enter, and you’ll see this screen:
    Note: If that doesn’t work, you can type in control userpasswords2 instead.
    Uncheck the box that says “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer”, and then hit Apply. You’ll see a username and password box. Enter in the appropriate information here and hit OK:
    Note that these steps work perfectly on XP as well.

  • Windows 7 Tips

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    Create a Shortcut to Search Your IE Favorites With Windows 7 or Vista Search
    Open up your User folder and you should see your Favorites folder inside it. Double-click to open the Favorites folder.

    Now enter in the following into the search box to find all bookmarks in the last hundred years or so:
        date:>1/1/1900
    Click the Save Search button on the toolbar, and then give it a friendly name like Search Favorites. You’ll see that the default save location is User Folder \ Searches.
    Now when you browse to that folder you’ll see a search folder called Search Favorites. Note that you can create a shortcut to this anywhere you’d like… the Quick Launch bar, for instance.
    Once you open up the Search Folder, you can simply type in your search into the search box to find whatever you are looking for.
    You can change the view to show details via the Views menu.

  • Windows 7 Tips

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    Create Shutdown / Restart / Lock Icons in Windows 7 or Vista
    If you dislike the new Windows Vista shutdown menu, you are probably in the majority. An alternative option is to create icons that will let you shut down, lock, or restart your computer without having to mess with that stupid popup menu.

    Of course, Windows 7 makes the shutdown menu a lot better, but if you want a shortcut elsewhere or to assign a hotkey, this should help you out.
    First right-click on the desktop, choose New and then Shortcut.
    In the shortcut location box, you’ll need to enter the correct command, which I’ve listed for you below.
    Shutdown Computer
        Shutdown.exe -s -t 00
    Restart Computer
        Shutdown.exe -r -t 00
    Lock Workstation
        Rundll32.exe User32.dll,LockWorkStation
    Hibernate Computer
        rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll,SetSuspendState
    Sleep Computer
        rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0
    When you’ve clicked next on the above dialog, you’ll be asked to name the shortcut. Probably best to name it according to the right function.
    After you click Finish, you should now have a new icon that you can double-click to immediately shutdown, restart, or lock your computer.
    Change Shortcut Icon
    The default icon is really ugly, and if you want to have separate shortcuts for each function you might want to change the icon. Right-click on the icon and choose properties.
    Click the Change Icon button, and then you can pick from the available icons in the system, or you can use the Browse button to pick an icon you downloaded off the web.
    Note that you can drag them to your quick launch bar if you’d prefer to have them there.

  • Auto Shut Down -Windows 7 Tips

    Make Your PC Shut Down at Night (But Only When You’re Not Using It)
    If you normally like to power off your PC when you’re not using it, do you ever forget and leave it on? Here’s how to configure Windows to automatically power down at night, but only if you’re not using the PC at the time.

     

    To accomplish this, we’ll setup a Task Scheduler job that tells the computer to shut down.
    Create a Task Scheduler Job to Shut Down the PC
    You’ll need to open up Task Scheduler to create the new job, so open it up and click the Create Task link on the right-hand side.
    Now you’ll want to give the task a name, and make sure to check the box for “Run with highest privileges”, since the shutdown utility requires admin access.
    Now switch to the Triggers tab, click New, and then setup a schedule that makes sense for you, like every night at midnight.
    Now flip over to the Actions tab, click New, and then enter shutdown into the Program box, and /S into the parameters box. If you want to force a shutdown and kill every app, you can use /S /F to force it to happen right away.
    Next head to the Conditions tab, and make sure to check the box to only start the task if the computer is idle for more than x minutes. You can also choose to stop the task if the PC isn’t idle to help make sure it doesn’t kick in if you are on the PC.
    Lastly, head to the Settings tab, and you can choose to restart the task every 30 minutes if the task fails—that way, if you are on the PC for a while past the normal time, the job will start up later on and shut down the PC.
    Once you’re done, your PC will shut down automatically.